1913
by Lady Eivel
Summary: What if the Doctor had retained his memories during Human Nature and Family of Blood? No character changes, but the plotline... diverts a bit from the original. Unrequited TenMartha, rating to be safe.
1. Chapter 1

**1913**

Summary: What if the Doctor had retained his memories during Human Nature/Family of Blood?

Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who. If I did, they'd keep the four-episode long storylines and run it all year! (heaven!)

A/N This little plot bunny bit me when I rewatched Family of Blood the other day and it refused to let go. So I sat down and wrote a plotline, and now the fic… By the way, I forgot the other maid's name, so I'll be calling her Rebecca. If you know her actual name, please tell me! Don't worry, I will get back to my other fics, but I had to get this one down.

**Chapter 1**

0-0-0-0-0

"Get down!"

A blast of green energy shot over their heads as they burst into the TARDIS, hitting the console with a shower of sparks. The doors closed behind them as the Doctor started his usual manic dance around the console, pressing various buttons, switches and levers to get the ancient machine to take off. As the engines wheezed into life, the Doctor turned to Martha.

"Did they see you?" he demanded.

"I don't know!" she replied, still getting over the fear of the chase.

"But did they see your face?"

"I was too busy running!"

"Martha, it's important- did they see your face?"

"No, they couldn't have." The Doctor nodded.

"Off we go!" he flicked another lever and Martha staggered as the TARDIS sped up. Various sounds, like warning signals, began howling from the console and the Doctor lifted the viewscreen to get a better look. "They're following us." He announced.

"How can they do that- you've got a time machine!" Martha asked.

"Stolen technology. They've got a Time Agent's vortex manipulator, they'll follow us wherever we go." He paused, stepping back as he did so. "Right across the universe. They're never going to stop!" He ended in a whisper, running his hand through his hair. His eyes were wide as he thought up a way to counter the new problem. "Unless… I'll have to do it…" he turned to Martha. "You trust me, don't you?"

"Of course I do." She replied, slightly confused.

"There's something I'm about to do, and I need your help." Something about his voice made her uneasy.

"What do you want me to do?" He began looking through his pockets and quickly drew out an ancient-looking watch.

"I need you to take this watch. My life depends on it, Martha." She held out her hands and he placed the watch in them. "Now, whatever happens next, promise me you won't interfere." Martha nodded silently as he pressed a button on the console. Something dropped down from the ceiling like an oxygen mask, only it looked nothing like one. It was made of metal and had two arched pieces which crossed in the centre. At the ends of both pieces were metal circles with the same writing as the Doctor used in his messages to himself- geometric and complex- emblazoned on them. The Doctor pulled the thing over to himself and placed it on his head.

"What are you going to do?" Martha asked, suddenly very scared.

"Rewrite my biology. Because I'm a Time Lord, they can track us. So, if I change into something else, they can't follow. Then it's three months and they're dead- this lot have a really short lifespan. Like mayflies really. Quite simple."

"Will it hurt?"

"Yes, which is why I need you. The TARDIS is headed for an English village in 1913, Farringham I think it's called. We should be safe there, but this," he tapped the device on his head "will knock me out, and might do more damage later."

"Might?"

"Never tried it before, only know the theory about how it works. Anyway, you'll need to get me out the TARDIS and find us somewhere to stay for about 3 months or so. " He looked directly at her "Think you can do it?"

"I can try." The Doctor nodded gratefully.

"Just remember: it's not the Doctor, it's John. John Smith. Oh, and by the way, that watch you've got." He held out a hand and she gave it to him "This will contain the key to changing me back. You'll need to look after it until I wake up, okay?" Martha nodded. The Doctor then placed the watch onto the front circle of the headset before pressing a button on the side of the device. It lit up, electric currents travelling down from the TARDIS roof to the Doctor. He screamed as they reached him. Martha could only look on in horrified silence, debating whether to break her promise and help him anyway. Before she could make up her mind, however, it was over. The device retreated back up to the ceiling, the watch falling out as it did so, and the Doctor, freed from its grasp, dropped to the ground. Martha was at his side in an instant. As he had told her, he was unconscious. The engines stopped and she realised they had arrived. She looked over to the door, then back at the Doctor.

"Let's hope you're not too heavy." She muttered and, putting the watch in her pocket, began to half-drag, half-carry the limp form to the door.

0-0-0

His head hurt. Actually, everything hurt, but his head was the worst. As consciousness began its unwanted return journey, he heard voices. One was vaguely familiar, but he couldn't quite place it. He opened his eyes, but quickly closed them with a soft moan of pain as light seared through to the centre of his headache.

"John!" He remembered telling the owner of that voice to call him that… He saw the blessed shadow through his eyelids and tentatively opened them again. Martha stood over him, her face creased with concern. "Are you alright?" He was sorely tempted to say no, but his usual self was returning (sans usual biology) and he attempted a nod, which had the effect of increasing the pain, and making him exceedingly dizzy. He shut his eyes again, hoping to return to unconsciousness. It stubbornly refused to arrive, and he decided to find out more about his current situation instead.

"Where are we?"

"The Cartwright family found us, you've been out cold for three days." Martha told him quietly, obviously realising that he was not 'alright'.

"Ah, you awake then?" another voice asked.

"He is. Do you have any more towels? He's still running a fever."

"They're over there- run along and get them, would you?"

"But…"

"I said, get them." The Doctor heard Martha's retreating footsteps before, any harshness used on Martha gone entirely, the new woman began talking to him.

"You gave us quite a scare there. Your friend," He heard the dislike in the voice when she referred to Martha. Probably racism- it had still been a common thing in the early 1900s earth. "said you'd wake up soon, but we really weren't sure. Still, here you are. You can stay until you're well enough to travel- my husband doesn't like having strangers in the house. Martha says you know some history, there's a school nearby and it needs a history teacher. I'm sure she could get a job as a maid- you could go there. We've already informed them you're here and may have an interest in the job, but of course, you could continue travelling if you wish." Her ceaseless chatter was mercifully stopped by a call from outside. "Girl- you can look after him for a bit. Go easy on the water though, there may be more here than you're used to, but that's no reason to overuse it." So it was racism then. The woman left and Martha returned to his side. She began brushing a damp cloth over his forehead. It soothed the fiery pain a little and he began to feel better.

"Sorry about her. She likes talking about anything and everything to anyone who will listen." Martha's gentle voice was a welcome relief from the louder tone of the other woman.

"Mrs Cartwright?" he managed to ask. His throat felt like sandpaper, and his mouth was sore.

"Yes. Hold on…" She raised his head, putting a glass of water to his lips. He drank greedily, emptying the glass within seconds. Martha laid him back on the pillow.

"Come on, get some sleep. You need it." Any other time, he might have argued. But he was so tired, and oblivion was looking very pleasant right now…

0-0-0

Martha noticed the change in breathing rate as the Doctor fell asleep. She suddenly realised how little he usually slept. Actually, she'd never seen him sleep at all. He was always around, doing something or other, no matter what she felt like. She looked over him. His hair was slightly messy, a brown spiky halo around his head. He looked so vulnerable, like a child. The sight tugged on all her heartstrings and she reached out a hand. What for, she didn't know, and never found out as at that moment Lucy Cartwright, the family's young daughter, skipped in. She paused by Martha.

"Mummy said he was awake." Martha smiled at the little girl.

"He was for a bit, but he needs to sleep so he'll get better."

"Will he be alright?" Seeing the worry in Lucy's eyes, Martha pulled her into a hug.

"'Course he will. Just you wait and see." The girl squirmed until she was sitting on Martha's lap, gazing solemnly at the Doctor.

"I hope he does. I like him."

"Lucy? We're off to market!" Mr Cartwright's voice broke the comfortable silence that had followed the girl's announcement.

"Bye Martha."

"Bye Lucy." Lucy got up, planted a kiss on the Doctor's forehead and skipped out to her parents, leaving Martha alone with the unconscious Time Lord. She looked down at him. His lips were slightly cracked from his earlier thirst. She wished he could have chosen somewhere more modern or, even better, elected to stay in the TARDIS. That way, she might have been able to find an IVF unit somewhere. If not from the TARDIS, then from a hospital or something. Hospital. That brought back memories. Running from the Judoon, meeting the Doctor, his kiss… As much as he insisted it had been a genetic transfer, she still held on to the hope that it signified some interest in her beyond friendship. It was certainly how she felt for him, not that he ever seemed to notice.

"Or maybe you do, and you don't want to tell me." She stopped as she realised she had spoken that last thought out loud and, shaking her head, returned to dabbing at the Doctor's forehead with the cloth.

0-0-0-0-0


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

0-0-0-0-0

It took several days for the Doctor to be able to get out of bed, and more before he was able to travel to the school. Martha hugged Lucy goodbye as her parents gave the Doctor a map with directions to the school from the house. Eventually they left, strolling through the woods and fields. They went at a fairly slow pace, so as not to tire the still-healing Doctor (or John, as they now had to call him), and talked. The walk took around an hour, but they arrived during the morning lessons and so were shushed as they were shown their quarters- the Doctor in his own bedroom/study and Martha in the attic with another maid, who introduced herself as Rebecca. She was quite friendly, showing Martha the ropes as she undertook her first day of service. As they climbed into their tiny beds in the freezing attic, Martha wondered how the Doctor was getting on. She wouldn't be able to see him until the next morning- was he alright?

He was. Almost as soon as he had made himself comfortable on the armchair by the fire in his study, he had heard a knock on the door.

"Come in!" he called, not wanting to leave the comfort and warmth of the fireside chair. A woman stepped in. She wore a grey dress covered by a white apron and he guessed she was the school's nurse. "Hello." He greeted her, smiling.

"Good morning." Came the reply. "My name's Mrs Redfern, I'm the school Matron. I heard you were feeling a little unwell so I thought…" She trailed off and the Doctor nodded.

"Thanks. I am a little," he made a face, gesturing with his hands "But I should be fine pretty soon. I hope."

"Well, alright. If you don't mind, I'd like to give you a quick check over. You know, just…" She looked down. "If that's alright."

"Yes, yes, of course." The Doctor studied her. She looked something like a bashful schoolgirl, despite the odd strand of grey hair, and he wondered what had caused it. After all, it was a boys' school- she was probably used to dealing with people of his gender. Still, Martha could be a bit like that too.

"I'll get my things." He shrugged as she closed the door behind her- it was probably nothing. He picked up a book from one of the piles beside the chair and began to read.

Nurse Redfern was back within a few minutes, carrying a black bag. She put it down on the desk as the Doctor marked his page. When she turned to him, she held a stethoscope and he began to feel worried. What if it hadn't worked? What if he was Time Lord after all, and she found out? It could mean disaster. Although, the rational part of his brain told him, if he was a Time Lord then the Family would probably have tracked him down by now. He tried to relax slightly as the stethoscope was placed against his chest for a few moments. "Heartbeat slightly irregular," announced the nurse as she put it back in the bag, this time drawing out a small torch, which she shone into his eyes. "Reaction a little slow." There was a knock as she placed the torch back.

"Come in!" called the Doctor, expecting it to be Martha. It was, however, a young boy. He was slight, with short blonde hair.

"Nurse Redfern- it's Baines. He's fallen down the stairs."

"Tell everyone I'm on my way, Latimer, I just need to get some things from my office." The boy nodded and ran off. "Sorry Doctor, it seems that this will have to be concluded some other day."

"That's quite all right, I understand." He told her as she left. In all honesty, he was glad. He had never liked being made a fuss of, especially by nurses. He picked up the book and had time to read a few pages before the lunch bell went. He again marked his page and left for the dining hall. Leaving his room, he met up with Nurse Redfern. She looked harassed.

"Anything wrong?"

"Baines broke his leg- they're having to send him to hospital."

"Ah. Erm… sorry if this is a bad time, but where's the dining hall?"

"Ground floor, there's a corridor ahead of the stairs, the teachers have their meals in the third room on the left."

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it." She managed to smile at him before hurrying off.

After lunch, where he'd had some interesting conversations with some other teachers about the ethics of war, he returned to his room. The headmaster had assured him that, since it was Friday and he had only just arrived, he would not be required to do anything until the next Monday, which he was thankful about, as he was feeling very tired. On the way up the stairs, he was gripped by an attack of dizziness and clung on to the rail until it passed. When he finally reached his study, he returned to his book. When the dinner bell rang, he felt far too tired to go to the teacher's lounge, but was pleasantly surprised by the arrival of Nurse Redfern, carrying a tray of food.

"What…?"

"One of the boys saw you on the stairs- he said you looked absolutely terrible, so I thought I'd bring this up to save you having to go downstairs." She explained. "Don't worry, I made him promise not to tell another soul."

"Thankyou," The Doctor said, tucking into the meal.

"So, where are you from? That girl- Martha- apparently said you travelled here from London, but she wasn't too specific."

"Erm…" He tried to find a story to cover the fact that he wasn't from London at all. Thankfully, the TARDIS intervened. "Well, we started out…"

0-0-0

The days passed, growing into weeks. The Doctor had fewer attacks of dizziness, and either Nurse Redfern or Martha always seemed to be there to help him through it. Martha had at first struggled with balancing visits to the Doctor and her chores, but it had grown easier. Now they had been there for two months, it felt almost like second nature to her, although her attention to him had not escaped the notice of the rest of the staff. Rebecca often teased her about it, and Nurse Redfern made the occasional comment, but she didn't mind. As long as the Doctor was safe, and she knew it, they could say what they wanted. She was not about to let him go- her earlier crush on him had developed into love, even though he didn't seem to notice, as usual.

She was not the only one with unrequited feelings. Nurse Redfern had, from the first day, been attracted to the 'history teacher' and did her best to find excuses to stay close to him. However, the Doctor was, as usual, completely oblivious to the real reason for the extra visits, considering her to be nothing more than a good friend. They were on first-name terms now, but she still seemed to be oddly embarrassed in his presence. He always shrugged the thought off- after all, even with 900 years of experience, he still couldn't profess to understand women.

0-0-0

"Go on, coward. You gonna do it, or am I gonna have to push you?" It was Saturday evening, and some of the Farringham Private School boys had decided to have a small 'party' to celebrate the news that Baines would be back with them within a month or so. The sneering voice with its threats encouraged Timothy, who had been elected as the beer fetcher, out the window much faster than he had been going before. He gulped as he looked down. Even though they were only a floor up, it looked to be a very long drop, particularly as Timothy was so small. He inched along the wall slowly until he reached a vine and managed to climb down. "You know where it is- don't you dare take any yourself!" Timothy turned and ran into the twilight. His breathing as he sped through the swiftly darkening woods and the rustling of his own feet drowned out the noises that did not belong in his particular time zone at all. The humming of an alien craft at rest, scanning for life.

So when a green flash enveloped him, he was taken completely by surprise.

0-0-0

The Doctor and Martha had, as often as possible, visited the Cartwright cottage, usually for dinner with the family. Mrs Cartwright and Lucy were quite happy to have them around, Lucy in awe of the Doctor's 'stories', but Mr Cartwright's presence when the pair were around was sullen and icy. He made it quite clear, although he never said anything about it, that they were not welcome. Nevertheless, they continued to visit and, 3 weeks before they were due to leave, Mrs Cartwright invited them round for Sunday dinner. She went to give the message in person at the school on Sunday morning, but when she returned, she found her husband in a towering rage.

"Why must you always invite these people to our house? It's bad enough being hardly able to pay the rent, but you insist on feasting them every single week! I've had it, I've really had it with them!" he stormed out, leaving his wife and daughter in a stunned silence.

He didn't really know where he was going, but found himself in the woods. Suddenly, flashes of green light streaked overhead and a soft thump sounded as they impacted the ground. He could dimly see the clearing where they had landed and cautiously went to investigate. The clearing seemed perfectly normal, but as he walked forward, he was repelled by a wave of green light. Curiosity piqued, he reached out a hand. Lines of green light shot out from it and encircled him. The light was all-consuming and he shut his eyes reflexively. When he opened them again, he was… somewhere else. Strange lights and noises were everywhere, and he was getting very confused. The room was all green and looked vaguely like marshland, with twisted vines and bushes growing from it.

"Don't worry, you could never hope to understand what is here. I suggest you do not try." A child's voice, vaguely familiar, brought a more human touch into this frightening new world. It was a boy, and as he stepped out from behind one of the bush-type things, Cartwright could see that he wore the uniform of the local private school.

"You- you're one of the boys from the school, aren't you? What are you doing in a place like this?"

"Timothy Latimer is dead. I am the Son, I wear his body. This is my… family home, if you will. There's just one thing though- we need a," he gave a barely audible snicker "human touch, so to speak." A greenish-white cloud had been forming behind him as he spoke. "Mr Cartwright, I would like you to meet my father." The cloud suddenly raced towards him and he screamed as it filled every part of him with blinding pain.

0-0-0-0-0


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

0-0-0-0-0

Mrs Cartwright looked up from her conversation with the Doctor, who had just arrived, as her husband entered. He looked much calmer, and seemed almost happy to see their guests.

"Mr Smith, I apologise for my late arrival."

"Oh that's fine, don't worry." The Doctor replied quickly "I was just saying, these potatoes are excellent."

"Yes, they always are." There seemed to be a glint in his eyes as he continued "Tell me, Mr Smith, where were you before you came to Farringham? I don't think I was ever told."

"Oh, here, there. Travelling."

"I see. Did you ever make any enemies among those you met?" This question had everyone on guard, but the Doctor's tone remained even.

"A few. Why do you ask?"

"To see if you would remember one particular group. The Family of Blood!" He drew out a laser gun and pointed it at the Doctor.

"Richard, what are you…?"

"Shut up, be quiet, close your mouth woman!" he barked, not moving. Martha slid out of her seat next to him. He did not notice as she crept round until she stood behind him. "Now, Doctor, for too long have we waited for this day! My family grows weak, and we would have your vitality…" he did not finish. Martha had picked up a vase from the window sill and at that point, smashed it over his head. As he stood, stunned, the Doctor took control of the others.

"RUN!" he yelled. They obeyed without question, Martha holding Lucy's hand as the Doctor helped her sobbing mother out of the room. However, the creature that had been her husband was not dazed for long, and he soon had the gun pointing once more at the Doctor, who did not notice as he pulled the trigger. Mrs Cartwright did. She threw herself in the beam's path, and with a scream was disintegrated. The surviving humans fled the building, running into the woods. "Quick, to the TARDIS!" The Doctor ordered. Martha obeyed, doing her best to help Lucy in their panicked flight. The Doctor took the girl's other hand and as they ran, her feet barely touched the ground as he dragged her along behind.

In the chaos, nobody noticed a figure stepping out behind them. It was Nurse Redford, on her way to buy a new hat in the village. She came round the corner in time to see the Doctor, Martha and Lucy disappear into the trees.

"Where are you…?" She began, but was cut off by a voice behind her.

"Seize her!" straw hands wrapped themselves around her arms and shoulders and began dragging her backwards. One of the hands was over her mouth, so the Doctor did not hear her muffled cries as she was dragged through the forest.

0-0-0

The instant they were through the doors, the Doctor began racing around the console, stabbing at buttons, levers and what seemed to Martha like everything else in reach.

"If I can draw them out, get them to chase us, it'll be about a week or so before they die. I can handle that, they can't. Now, Martha, I need you to…" He was interrupted as a horribly familiar voice came from the viewscreen.

"Hello Doctor." It was Mr Cartwright, or the 'Father', as he now called himself. "No pretences now, we all know who you are. Especially this lady here." The Doctor was shocked to see he had Nurse Redford, and was holding his gun to her throat. She looked terrified. "Although this young man may only know your human persona," He moved, revealing Timothy Latimer. The boy was tied to the engines, but looked slightly less afraid than the Nurse. With good reason, thought the Doctor, as he wasn't the one with a gun aimed at him. "But I will kill them both if you try to escape, I promise you. One second and they're both dead- do you really want that on your conscience? I would have thought it was heavy enough already." The Doctor sighed. He had a point, one that had struck a very raw nerve in the Time-Lord-turned-human.

"What do you want?"

"I would have thought that was obvious." Cartwright licked his lips. "Quite simply, you. And only you," He added, glancing at Martha, who had her hand on Lucy's shoulder. A tear rolled down the little girl's cheek.

"What did you do with my daddy?" she demanded. There was a sinister chuckle from the screen.

"Your daddy's dead, little girl. I wear his body. But enough of this, Doctor. My terms are quite simple: you come to me, alone, to give yourself up. Your friends will be freed and allowed to continue with their lives unharmed. Do we have a deal?" The Doctor frowned.

"Alright, but I want your word that you'll do nothing to harm them," He agreed after a moment, pointing an accusing finger at the screen.

"Their condition will not change. You have my word." The Doctor sucked air in through his teeth.

"Good. I'm heading over now."

"I knew you'd see sense. I look forward to your arrival. The ship is located in a clearing in the wood, which you often passed on your way to the Cartwright's home. I will see you soon Doctor," the message ended and the screen resumed its normal display. The Doctor pinched his chin, eyes wide as he thought.

"You're not actually going to just surrender to them, are you?" Martha asked incredulously "He'll kill you!"

"Perhaps." Then he shook his head, winked at her and strode out through the doors.

"DOCTOR!" Martha was about to run after him when Lucy said something that made her stop.

"Why did he leave his watch behind?" she turned to see the little girl picking up said watch from the console.

"Of course…" Martha breathed "The key to turning him back!" But then she frowned as another thought entered her head "What if he kills him anyway?" she turned to Lucy "I have to go- stay here, okay?" the girl shook her head.

"Can't I come with you? Please- I'm scared." Martha's heart melted. Poor Lucy had been through so much, it seemed unfair to leave her out.

"'Course you can. Come on, let's go."

0-0-0

The Doctor heard a twig snapping behind him and whirled round to see Martha and Lucy, looking like rabbits caught in the headlamps of a car.

"What are you doing here?" He demanded.

"You forgot something." Martha grinned, holding out the watch. He gave an exasperated sigh before reaching out and curling her fingers around it.

"Now, this time I need you to actually do as I say, alright?" He saw them nod and continued "When we reach the clearing…"

0-0-0

The Doctor walked out of the trees and into the open space. He heard the faint hum and opened his arms wide. "Alright, you got me. You going to let those two go now or what?" He was suddenly engulfed in green light, which faded to reveal the interior of the craft. "Bit outdated, that transporter. Anyone would think you wanted to blind me there." He told Cartwright, who stood motionless in the centre of the room. Timothy was tied up behind him, but Nurse Redford was nowhere to be seen.

"Ah, Doctor. So glad you could join us." He nodded to someone standing behind the Doctor "Secure him." Straw hands took a surprisingly strong grip on his arms and led him over to the wall, where they held him fast, facing away from the mottled green. He felt something. Buttons. He couldn't move any muscles in his arms at that point however, so he made a mental note to see what they did later. Cartwright sniffed. "Still human, then. Doctor, you surprise me. I, as you may have guessed, am the Father. And I would like to inform you, Doctor, that you have been led into a trap. Wife of mine!" he called, and the Doctor's heart sank as Nurse Redford stepped out from behind the engines, but he did his best to hide it.

"So, if she's your 'wife', then I'm guessing that Mr Latimer over there would be your son?"

"You are quite right. Only my daughter lacks a home, but she is content to stay within the ship. These human bodies are so very frail, after all. Not like yours. That superior biology that will be returned when you change back."

"Oh, is that what you wanted me for?"

"Don't act like you are stupid Doctor- we both know it is not so."

"But I honestly hadn't thought… that's not good."

"What?"

"Well, if you _really_ want me to change back, then there's this watch I need to do it."

"Do you have it?" Nurse Redford snapped, losing her patience.

"No, but," he added as the untied members of the Family took a step towards him "I know someone who has. And where she is."

"Who is she? Where is she?" Cartwright demanded.

"Outside I expect, I told her to stay at the TARDIS, but she never listens to a word I say." Cartwright's eyes glinted.

"Wife of mine, see if it is so."

0-0-0

Martha shivered. The onset of night had brought an almost brain-numbing cold with it, and she and Lucy stood huddled together for warmth as they waited for something to happen. The presence of the watch in Martha's hand comforted her, although she was afraid for the Doctor, and more than a little for herself. Finally, as the Doctor had told them they would be, they were taken in a flash of green. When her sight cleared, she saw Nurse Redford pointing a gun, similar to the one Cartwright had fired earlier, at her head. She realised that the Nurse, too, was now a member of the Family, but wasn't all that unhappy. After all, Martha had been the butt of many racist jokes over the past two and a half months.

"Ah, there you are." Cartwright's voice boomed. Lucy's lower lip trembled as he strode into view, but she fought her tears back with some success as the man who had been her father approached, holding out his hand. "The watch, if you don't mind." When she hesitated, he scowled "Give me the gun now, or I will kill the girl first, then you!" Martha handed the watch over with a show of reluctance. Cartwright snatched it out of her hand and strode over to Timothy Latimer. His 'wife' joined him. When they were all gathered, Cartwright flipped open the watch and they inhaled as though it was the rarest scent in existence. After a moment, they began to look confused, then angry. Nobody noticed that Lucy had quietly slipped behind the machines and, with nods and shakes of the head as guidance from the Doctor, had begun flicking switches, levers and dials.

"What did you do with it?" Redford demanded Martha.

"Actually," the Doctor broke in "I think you've been tricked by a simple olfactory misdirection. Little bit like ventriloquism of the nose. Elementary trick in certain parts of the galaxy. Lucy- it's the one to the left." the scarecrows suddenly slumped and the Doctor stepped forward, massaging his arms. "Thanks. Anyway," he continued, leaning against a piece of machinery "I really don't like the look of that hydrochonometer. It seems to be indicating you've got energy feedback all the way through the retrostabilisers, feeding back," he tapped another part of the ship "into the primary heat converter! 'Cos if there's one thing you should've done before you started mouthing off about how you won, you should have kept an eye on little Lucy here, and you should _never_ have let her press all those buttons! But," he said, turning away and beckoning to the two girls "I will give you one word of advice," he grabbed Martha's hand in his right and Lucy's hand in his left "Run!" he turned and dragged them forward to the exit hatch, just as the ship glowed red. Over the shrieking of alarms, they heard the Family running behind them as they sped out of the ship and across the clearing.

An massive BOOM resounded through the trees, the shockwaves from the explosion pushing everyone to the ground. As they got up, the Family realised that in their haste to flee, they had forgotten their guns, and Latimer. Only the Father and the Mother was now left- the Son and Daughter had been on the ship when it blew up. They looked at the Doctor. He looked back. And at that point, as flames lit up the scene, they saw why he'd run. Why he- who had seen and fought gods and demons- had hidden from them.

He was being kind.

As he and Martha dragged them off, Lucy following behind, nobody noticed a cloud of greenish-white gas hover above the trees before fading away.

0-0-0

The TARDIS doors closed, but the Father's screams resounded in their ears until they took off. The Doctor turned to Lucy. "You alright?" she didn't reply. He knelt in front of her and she suddenly burst into tears, flinging her arms around his neck. He awkwardly returned the embrace as she sobbed into his shoulder, with Martha looking on concernedly. When the little girl finally calmed down, she knelt next to her.

"What's the matter?" She asked quietly. Lucy raised her head, having buried it in the Doctor's shoulder and managed a tearful reply.

"Why did they kill Mummy and Daddy?" Martha sighed, trying to think of an answer.

"I don't know, sweetheart. They were just evil, and creatures like that don't care who they kill so long as they get what they want." The Doctor slid carefully out of Lucy's embrace and looked her in the eye.

"You got anywhere to go?" he asked gently.

"My nanna lives on the other side of the village. I could go to her, she likes me." She sniffed "But how will I tell her about Mummy and Daddy?"

"Tell her it was a madman. That was what they were after all- completely mad." The Doctor told her. She nodded and he stood, offering her his hand. "You want me to show you how I can get there?"

0-0-0

As they stepped out of the TARDIS and round the corner, there was a shriek.

"LUCY!" they turned to see an elderly woman running towards them. The Doctor and Martha moved closer to the girl, so they were in a more protective stance.

"And you would be?" The Doctor asked her.

"My nanna." Lucy told him, stepping round him to hug the woman, who returned it with tears of relief coursing down her face.

"I was so worried- when I found your parents, I thought you were dead! You are alright, aren't you?" She asked, holding the girl at arm's length.

"I'm fine. Mr Smith and Martha saved me."

"Thank you sir!" The woman enthused, shaking the Doctor's hand "You have no idea how grateful I am that you have returned my granddaughter."

"No problem." The Doctor assured her, turning to Lucy. "You okay?"

"Yes, I think so."

"Good, good. Time we were off then. Martha?" he offered his hand and she took it. "Bye Lucy." He grinned at her and she smiled back. Then they turned and strode back to the TARDIS. Once inside, he turned to Martha. "By the way, I don't think I ever said thanks, did I?"

"For what?"

"Those first weeks. Without you, I don't know where I'd be. Thankyou." He smiled, enveloping her in a hug. She returned it, enjoying the warmth of the embrace.

"Any time."

0-0-0-0-0


End file.
